Gen. Barry McCaffrey is used to winning -- but the U.S. drug czar is nursing war wounds for giving networks big-bucks incentives to insert anti-drug messages in TV shows. The four-star general was forced to beat a hasty retreat after TV producers charged him with censorship and congressional officials said his policy allows networks to cheat the government. Even as President Clinton defended McCaffrey and denied he had tried to regulate TV content, congressional officials said hearings into his anti-drug message deals are likely. [continues 332 words]
TEENAGERS as young as 15 are spending an average of Pounds 23 a week on drugs, according to a report on substance and alcohol abuse. The study, the first of its kind in the country to be researched and compiled by young people, found that one in every four teenagers smokes cannabis on a regular basis. Alcohol and tobacco were also found to be the most common drugs used by teenagers. The average weekly expenditure by those teenagers who took part in the survey was pounds 25 on alcohol; pounds 19 on cigarettes and pounds 23 on drugs. [continues 353 words]
One in two addicts suffers a relapse within the first three months of rehabilitation and less than 60% succeed in conquering their disease. Rather than making depressing reading, the statistics are a confirmation that a larger percentage of addicts are now seeking counselling for their problems, according to Michael Devine of Tabor Lodge, the addiction treatment centre. "Less than 40 years ago we did not know what addiction was in this country. "As a result, the recovery rate was just 2%. Today, it is 60% and the numbers seeking treatment continue to rise. [continues 291 words]
THE horror wreaked by drink driving is outlined in a damning report today which claims at least 150 people died on our roads last year because of alcohol. The Bacon Report on Road Safety, commissioned by the National Safety Council, estimates that drink is the primary cause of 33% of fatal road accidents. But the true figure could be much higher, as the report admits that this is a conservative estimate. “Assessments from some garda divisions suggest much higher figures,” said the report’s author, economist Peter Bacon. [continues 432 words]
Armed naval units are to be trained by garda forensic teams as part of a crackdown on the illegal transportation of drugs in Irish waters. Members of the Naval Service will be trained in crime scene preservation techniques, arrest procedures and suspects’ rights as part of a multi faceted, coastal protection role. Naval officers in charge of boarding parties have already visited the garda training centre in Tullamore, and members of the gardai and customs officers have been briefed at Naval Service headquarters in Cork Harbour. [continues 694 words]
The widescale abuse of drugs and alcohol has led to a direct increase in the number of sexually transmitted diseases among young people, according to Alliance, the Centre for Sexual Health. Research has shown the number of incidences reported to the Department of Health has almost doubled in the past six years. In 1993, 4,000 cases of STDs were reported. That figure has increased to 7,000, with doctors warning of a further rise unless the issue is addressed on a number of levels. [continues 383 words]
THE alarming rise in cases of Hepatitis C in Irish jails is posing a direct health threat to the prison population and the general public. A report on the link between intravenous drug abuse and infectious diseases, due to be published this week, found a growing number of prisoners are infected with Hepatitis. Many of them are re-entering society without proper treatment. The serious viral infection is carried in and transmitted through infected blood. Hepatitis C can be contracted through the use of dirty needles and syringes or by coming into contact with infected blood. The deadly disease can also be spread during heterosexual or homosexual activity. [continues 330 words]
GARDAI are tracking the two men at the head of one of the State’s leading drug gangs. The two, sons of a Cork politician, are top of the most wanted list following the jailing of Edward Judd Scanlon last week. Detectives have stepped up surveillance on the pair, who they believe are keen to fill the vacancy left after Scanlon was given a 22 year sentence for drugs offences. Scanlon and his partner Tommy O’Callaghan controlled Cork’s lucrative drugs trade for years, but with one now in jail and the other living in Amsterdam, the two brothers have emerged as the city’s newest drug barons. The youngest of the two, who is in his late 20s and lives on the northside of the city, has been involved in the drugs trade for a number of years and is well known to gardai. [continues 384 words]
